Surprising Story There was one student in my rotary grade 8 class that was functioning at a grade 1 level. This kid tries really hard to do well in school, but it is very difficult for him. I found out later that this students is only receiving support right now because there is another identified student in his class that receives support. Unfortunately when he goes to high school, he will not have any support, which will most likely mean that he will fail out of high school. It is upsetting that this students is putting all his effort into his work, and will still end up failing out of high school because he will not have any help.
Inspiring Story What's inspiring to me is hearing about the pasts of students, and the stories that they are going through, and then seeing them so happy, and helpful in all of their classes! It inspires me because if this student can be happy every day, then I have no reason to get down from all the small things in life.
Classroom Management I tried a bunch of different management techniques, and I had a hard time getting the attention of my students. The first thing I tried was using an "assertive voice" but I don't have that voice yet, so that didn't work. I also tried flicking the lights, but I found that half the students would stop talking, and the other half would continue. A couple strategies that worked for a little were "I'll wait" since the students took it upon themselves to quiet their class, and the clap and copy technique. This worked pretty fast, but again, the students would only stop talking for a little bit, so it was good for quick instructions. The technique that worked the best was detention. During the last FA visit, my students were being crazier than usual, and were not working independently as asked, so I told the students that they were to stay in for 1 min. at recess. This quieted them down for the rest of the class! I think it was good for the students to see my authority, and that I could discipline them if necessary.
Resources I got every lesson, and minds on, and modification that both rotary teachers handed out to the students. I am very prepared if I ever teach a grade 8 class, especially in English.
Reflection on Elementary School Placement
Surprising Story
There was one student in my rotary grade 8 class that was functioning at a grade 1 level. This kid tries really hard to do well in school, but it is very difficult for him. I found out later that this students is only receiving support right now because there is another identified student in his class that receives support. Unfortunately when he goes to high school, he will not have any support, which will most likely mean that he will fail out of high school. It is upsetting that this students is putting all his effort into his work, and will still end up failing out of high school because he will not have any help.
Inspiring Story
What's inspiring to me is hearing about the pasts of students, and the stories that they are going through, and then seeing them so happy, and helpful in all of their classes! It inspires me because if this student can be happy every day, then I have no reason to get down from all the small things in life.
Classroom Management
I tried a bunch of different management techniques, and I had a hard time getting the attention of my students. The first thing I tried was using an "assertive voice" but I don't have that voice yet, so that didn't work. I also tried flicking the lights, but I found that half the students would stop talking, and the other half would continue. A couple strategies that worked for a little were "I'll wait" since the students took it upon themselves to quiet their class, and the clap and copy technique. This worked pretty fast, but again, the students would only stop talking for a little bit, so it was good for quick instructions. The technique that worked the best was detention. During the last FA visit, my students were being crazier than usual, and were not working independently as asked, so I told the students that they were to stay in for 1 min. at recess. This quieted them down for the rest of the class! I think it was good for the students to see my authority, and that I could discipline them if necessary.
Resources
I got every lesson, and minds on, and modification that both rotary teachers handed out to the students. I am very prepared if I ever teach a grade 8 class, especially in English.
Heather